Interesting study about economic mobility and how it relates to the states:

[Beet]

Unions have a very hard time surviving outside of monopolistic or oligopolistic industries, period. In fact, IIRC a cornerstone of the union-business alliance in some parts of US history is businesses accepting unions in exchange for union help in quashing competition. This was possible when the industry was mature and the potential competition was all domestic, none foreign. Some times, when this happens both employers and employees can enjoy a long period of prosperous stability and thrive.

As far as mobility goes, if they are only looking at a single generation, then it's more a function of whether or not the inter-state disparity of peak income is reflected in entry-level income. For example, say the average salary in MD is $60,000 Whereas in Texas, the figure is $40,000. Well, suppose the MD whipper snapper coming out of college starts out at $35,000; and the TX whipper snapper comes out at $25,000. Over the course of 10 years MD guy moves up to $60,000 and TX guy moves up to $40,000. MD guy has moved up $25,000; TX guy has moved up only $15,000. If the deciles are relatively evenly distributed, MD whipper snapper has a greater chance of jumping more deciles than TX whipper snapper. Hence it looks like MD has more mobility but reality it's just that MD has a higher standard of living and higher income overall. But that's just a reflection of the states' median income. I don't know, I am just blowing out my thoughts. Basically we need to see more details on what's behind this data here.